Sore throat? Such a pain. Here are some top tips to help fight off the infection and feel better sooner.

• Try to get some regular fresh air and when indoors don't have the heating up too high.
• Stay hydrated with plenty of fluids (I blogged about this just the other day), a nice honey and lemon drink can soothe your throat.
• It's even more important to get your 5 fruit and vegetables a day with supplements such as Vitamin C and Zinc
• Gargling with salt water will help fight the infection
• Get some rest! Let your body concentrate it's energy on fighting the infection and getting back on the road to recovery
• Carefully choose what you treat your sore throat with, something to ease the soreness but equally something that won't dampen your body's reactions
• In 90-95% of cases the cause is a viral infection which cannot be cured by antibiotics, so treat the pain and ride out the storm
• Avoid food or drink that is too hot as this can increase your throat irritation
• Keep away from other people as much as you can to avoid picking up a secondary infection while your immune system is weakened

These handy pointers have been brought to you by me in collaboration with Ultra Chloraseptic aneasthetic throat spray along with Anna McLaughlin, Dr Mike Smith and Andrew McCombe.

Sophie

 

Skirt, belt and jumper - charity shops, blouse - eBay, boots - Sarenza, necklace - New Look, tights - Primark

I don't have much time at the moment and frustratingly I haven't made any positive changes in order to get the good nights sleep I've been promising myself. The candle is being burned at both ends which is never clever but conversely I don't feel as dreadful as I should, in fact I feel fine. What with a gazillion photos to edit and around 8 started posts with none even vaguely close to being finished I am at risk of not blogging for days on end so I thought I'd just spend a couple of minutes on this one to at least make myself feel a bit like I've made some tangible progress. This almost tapestry skirt is one found on the great charity shop haul spree with Hazel back in the autumn and has only just got it's first wear (sh eknows how much I bought that has not made it to the blog yet, eeek). This is a midi length and shape I don't generally wear so it makes a fun change as well as sporting an interesting colour and design.

The amount of times I've had tucked-in-knitwear envy is high, but finally I feel like I pulled it off here. Hurrah! My hunt for a good leather belt is ongoing but I was lucky enough to find this gorgeous vintage leather one which seems unworn for £1 locally. Luck was on my side.

Sophie

It's important to stay hydrated properly and of course water is your best option but how many of us can claim to stick to that all day? Did you know that tea and coffee are diuretics? Maybe you didn't. Diuretics promote the body to produce urine and so in fact drain the body of more water than necessary. Drinking regular tea and coffee all day therefore is a really bad idea! My grandmother (under the watch of two carers) took a turn, perceived to be akin to a stroke so paramedics were called to the scene (3 turned up, all guns blazing) which turned out to be a dizzy spell caused by dehydration, the result of too much tea and not enough water. Do you get headaches through the day? Could be too much tea or coffee. Be warned.

So what should we drink instead? Well, if like me you can't face glass upon glass of good old H2O then fruit teas and herbal infusions are a great idea. There are hundreds of different varieties you can pick up so whatever your taste there WILL be something you like, trust me. I was given quite a few new selection packs for Christmas and I'm rather excited to be trying them, they sound great. I discovered Fruitbroo late last year and want to try more flavours.

Above is my current tea selection, Twinings are reliably good and the others were bought for me. There is is my beloved peppermint tea; a must to start the day with a very large mug of this. I firmly believe that a good night's sleep and a large hydrating and invigorating beverage is the right way to start the day instead of an IV of strong coffee. Most evenings I like to sip upon a large mug of Twinings camomile honey and vanilla infusion as it's delicious and of course, caffeine free. Favourites are Raspberry and Echinacea, Blackcurrant and Rhubarb, Blackcurrant and Vanilla as well as (not pictured) Blackcurrant and Nettle.

There are many conflicting studies out there regarding the positives and negatives of coffee, caffeine and green tea. Who knows what is in fact the truth? Personally, I like to think it's wise to have plenty of hydrating beverages, a cup of coffee and a nice mug of green tea each day. (Don't forget that green tea has caffeine and is a diuretic too, unless you buy decaf). There are plenty of alleged health benefits to green tea and let's face it, there has to be if it tastes *that* bad to start with, though I've become so accustomed to it now that I don't even notice the flavour. If you've been put off it then do persevere. I love fruit juices but after being berated by my dentist, I try drinking them through a straw in an attempt to save my teeth from being eaten away by the acid.

Water can be jazzed up with the addition of a slice of lemon, lime or orange if you're feeling super holy. I indulge in a little weak squash but am planning to try more waters in an attempt to be a little more grown up.

Are you guilty of dehydrating? Have I persuaded you to make any changes?

Sophie

My skin has never been a priority. I've never had a comprehensive skincare routine and if I'm honest I'm not entirely sure what I need to use and in what order. At the start of the year it dawned on me that as I'm due to turn 29 this year it's high time I started taking better care of my face as thing are only going to go downhill. Looking in the mirror I see huge dark streaks under my eyes that are mighty unsightly, although thankfully no significant lines as yet. I used to be really negative about what I saw in the mirror but I've loosened up now, in no small way down to you guys. Moisturiser is something I used to casually pop on before foundation on the days I'd wear makeup but since I've started using BB cream that has lapsed. After a recommendation from Jennie I decided to pick up the Eraser Eye from Maybelline in an attempt to mitigate my ever more tired looking eyes. Little old me was lucky enough to win the Simple day and night creams in a giveaway, which was jolly good timing.
Micellar solution is one I have been using for a little while to take up my makeup and freshen my skin of a morning (this could be the wrong use, but it's what I've been doing!). The first one I used was the Taaj one from a beauty box, then I moved on to the No7 one, which seemed fine but pricy, after that I bought the Vichy at a similar cost and finally I found the L'Oreal one for much less! 200ml for £3.99 or something is not too bad and I can't say I've noticed any difference between o them except I'm sure the Taaj one had a slightly spicy scent and the rest have none.
A hot cloth cleanser was a recent purchase which I plan to use twice a week. I bought the Superdrug own brand one as it was fairly cheap so it's no great loss if my skin goes wild, it does sometimes react to washes and scrubs. The eye brightening cream is the same brand and I've been applying this morning and night for a couple of weeks. There seems to be no visible difference as yet and I think perhaps I'll look out for a firming eye cream instead.
The picture is rubbish so you can't even tell but the blusher is a new shade for me, Beauty UK in 'rustic peach'. My relationship with makeup is pretty poor and I feel like a clown with anything but the most natural looking setting powder and blushes. I'm hoping the peach will be a pleasing alternative from my usual colour.
Ironically, the very morning I had a wobble over my aging face the Tesco delivery driver asked me, upon me opening the door, if my Mum or Dad were home. First time that's happened and I had to laugh. Good timing. I guess things aren't as bad as I first thought.
Do you have any advice for me? Or leave me links to any of your posts if you've written any that are particularly appropriate.
Sophie

Blouse and skirt - charity shops, boots - eBay, bracelets, knitted tank and necklace - gifts, tights - Primark.

Good friends are hard to find. I am so lucky to have both "met" and actually met some wonderful friends through blogging and Twitter. It came out of the blue really, when I started blogging it was all rather anonymous. I naturally assumed it would stay that way and yet over the months and years I've grown very attached to people I regularly communicate with and really got to know. This Christmas I was very lucky to be given some thoughtful presents with this knitted Hobbs tank being sent to me by Alice, when I opened the pretty packaging I was so excited to find such a perfectly 'me' item! This is something I will truly get much use out of and will treasure for years to come.

I've definitely found my Autumn/Winter signature style and hopefully it's one I can happily stick to for the coming years with only a few additions now I have so many pieces I can put together. Blouses are my new weakness it seems but it is so difficult to miss out on one that ticks all the boxes. This week I mulled over my shopping habits after prompting from a few different sources, questioning how much I buy, where from and how much for. Pretty much everything is from charity shops these days and mostly sub £5 an item, sometimes considerably below. I probably buy too much. In fact I definitely buy too much, my clothes wont fit in my large wardrobe and yet most of them get worn, some frequently. Parting with any is difficult and I'm often raging that I've got rid of something that I really wish was still in my possession. You can't win. On the plus side, however, my spending is all going to good causes, I'm supporting a wide variety of causes from research into chronic illnesses to supporting the elderly and animal care so even if my shopping is a little over the top, my generosity shouldn't be brought into question. Clear conscience.

Sophie

Turtle neck t-shirt – Orla Kiely Heattech from Uniqlo, skirt – charity shop, boots – Yull, tights – M&S

How to keep warm in the colder months is something I give thought to as keeping me warm eventually leads to keeping me happy. "Start with a vest" is something my Dad tried to drill into me as a teen. You can't get teens to wear vests all that easily, let me tell you. I resisted for years but when I finally succumbed to the white thermal vests bought for me I reluctantly admitted that I'd been wrong. These days I can be found with a thermal base layer for around half the year and although I love the snug hug they give my main gripe is that at least half my collection has a really annoying frill to the neckline and the neckline itself is too high to the neck and isn't guaranteed to be covered by a top, tee or open necked shirt. I've been eyeing up the Heattech range from Uniqlo for ages now so I finally made a choice on what I wanted and asked for it for Christmas. The first thing I noticed was what a neat package it arrived in and immediately then how lovely the print is. I think I'd not zoomed in on the screenshot and for some reason got it into my head that it was more of a polka dot print whereas it is actually butterflies or flying clover, so pretty!

I have the size small (bitter experience tells me ordering anything ever from anywhere in a XS only ends in tears. Looking at you Shock absorbers - getting half stuck was alarming) and in fact it is half fitted but not uncomfortably so. When I order another (next Christmas, if I'm fortunate) I'll probably go for the same size as it is snug enough for my liking. The fact that it is a vest and a top in one is a real bonus as it is so pretty I'm happy to have it on display - it doesn't look vesty in the slightest. The material is much thinner than I expected, it is very light in weight but I can't deny that it did keep me a good temperature in the house and when I popped out to get these pictures (mild winter weather). As I'm a girl that really feels the cold I'm going to layer it up for the super cold days as it definitely wont be enough for me on it's own. The turtle neck is ideal for keeping my neck and upper shoulders and chest warm, I really have to get myself more tops with this neckline to keep me happy when it's cold.

Have you got into base layers? Tell.me.everything.

Sophie